New Zealand censors change A Star is Born rating over suicide scene

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's hit film A Star is Born has undergone a rating change in New Zealand following complaints about how the movie's suicide scene was affecting teens.

The country's top censor, David Shanks, reportedly received complaints from health providers and officials at the Mental Health Foundation over the scene at the end of the movie.

Tweets from the nation's Office of Film & Lit Classification reads: "Thanks to public feedback we've updated the descriptive note for #AStarIsBorn to include a warning for suicide. The depiction is subtle but emotionally arresting."

As a result, the film now comes with an 'M' classification in New Zealand for "sex scenes, offensive language, drug use & suicide".

The new rating has also been met with complaints from those who have yet to see the film, claiming the classification spoils the movie.

But a spokesman for the OFLC states: "We've had a number of people contact us because they WEREN'T warned, and were unexpectedly traumatised watching the film after recent bereavements to suicide."

According to Billboard, the suicide rate in New Zealand is greater than it has ever been, with 668 taking their own lives in the past year.

Shanks tells Stuff, "The first complaint involved Police Victim Support advising that they responded to two vulnerable young people who had been severely triggered by the (suicide) scene... Many people in New Zealand have been impacted by suicide... for those who have lost someone close to them, a warning gives them a chance to make an informed choice about watching."